Spatial, spectral, and polarization properties of coupled micropillar cavities

We report on an experimental and numerical study of the spatial and spectral properties of the optical modes in coupled pillar microcavities. Highly efficient photon blockade or bright sources of entangled photon pairs can be implemented by coupling a single quantum emitter to coupled cavities. Parameters for optimal coupling with a single quantum emitter are identified. Polarization properties, which are critical for both applications, are finally discussed. We show that an extremely small polarization splitting is obtained for the first modes in a wide range of parameters. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. {[}doi:10.1063/1.3632111]